Our Trustees
The Trustees of The Royal Foundation each undertake a balance of responsibilities divided between strategic direction, governance, oversight and fundraising. The Trustees meet at least quarterly on a formal basis and they are accountable in law for the work of the Foundation.
The Rt Hon Lord Hague of Richmond, William Hague
ChairmanThe Rt Hon Lord Hague of Richmond, William Hague
The Rt Hon Lord Hague of Richmond, William Hague, served for 26 years in the British House of Commons until he stood down in 2015. In that time, he served in many senior roles, including Leader of the House of Commons, but is best known as the Leader of the Conservative party, 1997-2001, and First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary, 2010-2014. He now pursues a wide range of business and charitable activities. He is also a well-known writer, as a weekly columnist of the Times and a best-selling author of historical biographies.Alice Webb
Alice Webb
Alice Webb is Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios. Prior to this Alice spent 15 years at the BBC in a number of roles. As Chief Operating Officer and then Director of BBC North she was a key figure in relocating key BBC departments and over 35,000 hours of output a year to MediaCityUK in Salford.
Latterly, Alice was Director of BBC Children’s & Education - leading the BBC’s output and activity for Under 16’s – including CBeebies, CBBC and BBC Bitesize. More recently, Alice led the launch of the BBC’s hugely successful Bitesize Daily which supported millions of children across the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
Claire Wills
Claire Wills
Claire Wills is a senior partner at international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and managing partner of its London office. She joined Freshfields in 1992, becoming a partner in May 2001. Claire is also a member of the Arnold Foundation Board, established by Rugby School in 2003.Jean-Christophe Gray
CBEJean-Christophe Gray
Jean-Christophe Gray CBE is Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. He previously worked at HM Treasury since 2002 in a variety of roles, including: Director, Public Services (2016-2020); Press Secretary to two Chancellors of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling and George Osborne (2009-11); and Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown (2004-06). He was the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman in No10 Downing Street 2012-2015, and has most recently (2020-2021) been seconded to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Prior to joining the Civil Service, he worked for Procter & Gamble and was briefly a parliamentary assistant to then MP for Wimbledon. He read history at the University of Oxford, and has a MSc in European Politics & Policy from the London School of Economics.Lady Pinsent
Lady Pinsent
Demetra Pinsent is the CEO of British beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury, a Non-Executive Director of Belmond Ltd and a Trustee of The Royal Foundation. Prior to this, she was a Partner at McKinsey & Company where she co-led the European Luxury Goods Practice and advised leading global retailers and consumer businesses. She has also served as an Advisory Board Member for Walpole, the British luxury goods association and Aston Martin.Sir Ron Kalifa
OBESir Ron Kalifa
Ron Kalifa is Chairman of Network International. He is a Non-Executive Director of the Court of Directors to the Bank of England, the England & Wales Cricket Board and a member of the Council of Imperial College, London. Ron was invited to lead an independent Fintech Strategic Review for the UK at the request of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Report was published in February 2021. Ron is also an Operating Partner for Advent International.
Previously, Ron led Worldpay for over 10 years as CEO including its divestment into private equity ownership in 2010. He served as Vice Chairman, thereafter, remaining as an Executive director until February 2020.
Simon Patterson
Vice ChairmanSimon Patterson
Simon Patterson is a Managing Director of Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing. He is currently a board member of Dell Technologies, Cegid and FlixBus, and previously served on the boards of Intelsat, Skype, MultiPlan and Gerson Lehrman Group. He is also a Trustee of the Natural History Museum in London and a Non-Executive Director of Tesco plc.Zeinab Badawi
Zeinab Badawi
Zeinab Badawi was born in Sudan – her family moved to London when she was two years old. She studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University and for an MA in history (awarded with a distinction) at SOAS, London University. Zeinab has worked extensively in the British media for four decades and is now best known for her work in the BBC’s international division at BBC World News TV and BBC World Service Radio on programmes such as 'Hard Talk', and 'Global Questions’ as well as a major 20-part tv series on the history of Africa which she produced and presented through her own production company for BBC World News. She also produces and presents films on opera. Zeinab is President of SOAS London University, a member of the advisory board of the think tank Afro-Barometer, and of MINDS: the Mandela Institute for Development Studies; a trustee of Historic Royal Palaces, BBC Media Action (the charitable arm of the BBC), the Royal Opera House, the Hampstead Theatre in London and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. She is also a council member of the Arts Humanities and Research Council of UKRI; Zeinab was Chair of the Royal African Society (Patron: HRH the Duke of Cambridge); she has served on the board of the British Council, the National Portrait Gallery, the Institute of Historical Research, the Overseas Development Institute, and has been Chair of Article 19. Zeinab has received many awards including honorary doctorates from SOAS, the University of the Arts London, and York University and received the President’s Medal of the British Academy for her services to broadcasting and education and the United Nations Association-UK Sir Brian Urquhart award for distinguished service to the UN. She is also an honorary fellow of St Hilda’s, College Oxford University. Zeinab has four children.Our leadership team
Amanda Berry OBE
Chief Executive OfficerAmanda Berry OBE
Amanda joined The Royal Foundation in June 2022 from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) where she has served as Chief Executive for 20+ years.
Amanda was instrumental in the major changes at BAFTA during her tenure. Successfully positioning the organisation as the pre-eminent global charitable body celebrating the very best work in film, games and television. Amanda oversaw a huge expansion in the organisation’s year-round learning and talent development programmes, ensuring BAFTA is a global leader in discovering, inspiring and nurturing new talent. She re-positioned BAFTA’s annual Film Awards creating one of the most globally respected industry events in the international Awards calendar. Amanda was also at the heart of the successful delivery of one of BAFTA’s most ambitious undertakings to date, the £34 million redevelopment of its HQ at 195 Piccadilly, spearheading a fundraising campaign to create an international centre of excellence, enabling BAFTA to dramatically increase its investment in the next generation of talent.
In 2009, Amanda received an OBE for services to the Film Industry and in 2022 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by University of the Arts London, in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the field of Digital and Entertainment Industries.
